Golf bag support



pr 1, 1969 f 'D. B. CANTWELL 3, 65

GOLF BAG-SUPPORT Fil ed Jan. 5, 1967 283 INVENTOR. t DAVID B. CANTWELL ATTORNEY United States Patent 0 M 3,435,866 GOLF BAG SUPPORT David B. Cantwell, 1580 Edgeworth Ave, Colma, Calif. 94014 Filed Jan. 3, 1967, Ser. No. 606,819 Int. Cl. A631) 55/04 US. Cl. 150-15 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a support for a golf bag for use in inserting into the ground to hold the bag in an upright position while a player is making a shot.

It is often desirable to have a golf bag stand on end in an upright position. For example, a player who is carrying his own bag during a round will often want to have the bag stand on end while he selects a club and plays a shot. Similarly on the practice tee it may be desirable to have the bag stand on end while hitting practice shots with different clubs. Since golf is played in a Wide variety of weather and course conditions, the golf bag support must function Well under many conditions. In addition the support must not intefere with the normal use or carrying of the bag and the support must be usable on hilly courses and in the wind.

Heretofore a great many attempts have been made to provide a golf bag support. The following United States patents are directed to the problem: 1,291,359, 1,444,357, 1,452,084, 1,488,389, 1,926,184, 1,978,242, 2,453,565, 3,075,733 and 3,191,900. There is still however a need for a golf bag support which is reliably applicable under a wide variety of conditions and which is readily compatible with the other function of the bag.

In a broad aspect the present invention relates to apparatus for use with a golf bag and includes a hollow tubular member of substantially the same length as the golf bag. The tubular member is placed parallel to the longitudinal axis of the golf bag and connected to the bag. Elongated rod means are slidably positioned in said tubular member. The rod means is longer than the tubular member and thus extendable from either or both ends of the tubular member. Stabilizing means are provided to frictionally retain the elongated rod in a fixed position within the tubular member. A pointed portion is formed on the lower end of the elongated rod to allow the rod to more easily penetrate the ground, and a handle is affixed on the upper end of the rod to facilitate manual movement of the rod into and out of the ground. Thus the golf bag is placed in an upright position and the elongated rod is pushed down into the ground to retain the bag in the upright position. When the bag is to be moved the player pulls the rod from the ground to thus retract the pointed end into the tubular member and to free the bag from the ground.

In a more particular aspect the present invention comprises an elongated hollow tubular member having a flared portion of greater diameter at its lower end. A hole is provided in the lower end of a golf bag for receiving the tubular member. The hole is sized so as to not pass the flared lower end of the tubular member. The upper collar of the golf bag is provided with a recessed portion and a flange also having a hole for engaging the tubular member is fixedly connected to the recessed portion of the upper collar of the golf bag. The outside portion of the tubular member passing through the hole in Patented Apr. 1, 1969 the flange is threaded. A lock nut means including a threaded collar portion having an O-ring included therein extending above the upper end of the tubular member are provided. An elongated rod means having a pointed lower end and a handle on the upper end is slidably inserted in the tubular member. The O-ring frictionally engages the rod to stabilize it and to frictionally retain the rod in a given position within the tubular member. A second handle may be optionally provided on the rod for inserting the rod into hard ground. When the rod is pushed down the handle is recessed in the recessed portion of the upper collar of the golf bag and thus does not interfere with club selection or removal.

It is a particular objection of the present invention to provide a ground engaging support for :a golf bag which support stably retains the golf bag in an upright position when desired and which may be easily retracted from the ground and frictionally held in withdrawn position during other use of the bag. Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description read in light of the accompanying drawing which is made a part of this specification and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation and illustrate the preferred embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation and illustrates an alternative embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 4 is an elevation view and illustrates another alternative embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with the invention.

Referring now to the drawing and to FIG. 1 in particular, a golf bag is indicated by the numeral 20. The golf bag 20 may be a conventional bag or it may be one especially adapted for use with the present invention. Thus conventional bags may be fitted with the golf bag support of the present invention with little difliculty or an entirely creative bag may be designed to take advantage of special features of the present invention. Such a new bag is illustrated in FIG. 1. A recessed portion 22 is provided in the upper collar 24 of the bag. The recessed portion is divided from the club-carrying section of the bag 20 by means of rib 26. Ribs 28 and 30 divide the club-carrying section of the bag in suitable divisions for carrying the clubs in a convenient manner.

A hollow tubular member 32 of substantially the same length as the golf bag 20 is placed inside the bag 20 and located parallel to its longitudinal axis. The tubular member 32 is fixedly connected in the bag by suitable means. An elongated rod means 34 is slidably positioned in the tubular member 32. The rod means 34 is somewhat longer than the tubular member 32 and is thus extendable therefrom. The elongated rod 34 has a point 36- at its lower end and a handle 38 at its upper end. Since the elongated rod 34 is slidable within tubular member 32 the pointed end 36 of the rod 34 may be driven into the ground when bag 20 is stood upright on its lower end 40. The pointed end 36 of the rod 34 is pushed down into the ground by means of exerting downward force on handle 38. With the point penetrating the ground the bag .20 will be firmly held upright. When the player desires to move the bag 20 the rod 34 is pulled from the ground by a lifting motion of handle 38. The point 36 is recessed into the lower end of the tubular member 32 and cannot sway or injure the player.

The apparatus of the present invention is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2 which is an elevation view with portions broken away for clarity of presentation showing the preferred embodiment of apparatus assembled in accordance with this invention. Parts in FIG. 2 which correspond to parts illustrated in FIG. 1 will be given similar numbers for sake of convenience. In assembling the apparatus of the present invention a hole is provided in the bottom of a golf bag. A suitable grommet may be used to protect the bottom portion in which the hole is formed. A tubular member 32 having a flared lower portion 52 is inserted through the hole. The flared lower portion engages the grommet 50 to prevent the tubular member from passage entirely through the hole.

Connecting means are provided to connect the upper end of the tubular member 32 to the upper collar of the golf bag. The tubular member is connected in tension in order to give firm support for the golf bag. In the preferred arrangement the tubular member has threads 53 formed on its outside upper portion. Receptacle means generally indicated by the numeral 55 having mating threads are fixedly connected to the upper collar 24 of the golf bag. The threaded end 53 of the hollow tubular member 32 is then inserted into the mating threads of the receptacle means and the tubular member 32 is rotated to tighten the connection. The receptacle means 55 includes a stabilizing means for frictionally engaging an elongated rod 34 which is inserted into the hollow tubular member 32. The reoeptacle means 55 is formed of a flat washer 56 which is fixedly attached as by welding for example to the upper collar 24 of the golf bag. A nut 57 having threads corresponding to the threads 53 of the tubular members fits below the fiat washer 56'. A cap member 58 having a central opening and a threaded portion 59 in its lower portion is threadedly connected to the extreme upper portion of the tubular member 32. The central opening of the cap member 58 is sized to slidably receive the elongated rod 34. An O-ring 60 is positioned in the central opening of the cap member 58 and frictionally engages the elongated rod 34 to stabilize it. The O-ring performs two important functions. The first is to hold the elongated rod in a manner to prevent it from freely sliding in the tubular member so that when the elongated rod is retracted it cannot accidentally slide in and out. Secondly, the O-ring prevents the elongated rod from accidentally becoming loosened when it is penetrating the ground. This is quite important when the bag support is being used in times of high wind since it has been found that without the O-ring the bag will not remain standing in a strong wind.

The elongated rod 34 is longer than the hollow tubular member 32 so that it extends out of the tubular member 32. Preferably the elongated rod 34 is long enough so that the point 36 portion of the rod 34 may be driven about 4 to 6 inches into the ground. The upper end of the rod 34 is provided with a handle 38. The rod 34 should be sized so that when the point 36- is inserted into the ground, the handle will be down in the recessed portion 22 of the upper collar 24 of the golf bag and thus out of the way while the player selects a club. As noted above when the bag is picked up the point portion 36 of the rod 34 is retracted into the bottom of the tubular member 32. The O-ring prevents the rod 34 from sliding back and forth. Firm pressure must be applied to the rod 34 to overcome the action of the O-ring to move the rod within the hollow tubular member.

An alternative arrangement of apparatus is illustrated in FIG. 3. This embodiment is useful when it is desired to adapt the apparatus of the present invention to a conventional golf bag. Only a fragmentary portion of the upper collar of a conventional golf bag is shown for purposes of this description. A right angle member 71 having an opening for receiving the hollow tubular member 32 is fixedly connected to the upper collar 70 by suitable means such as nut 72 and bolt 73. The right angle member 71 has threaded means such as nut 73 for threadedly receiving the upper threaded portion 53 of the hollow tubular member 32. The bottom of the tubular member IS held at the lower end of the golf bag. The lower connection may be similar to that shown in FIG. 2 or if desired, a second right angle member having a hole for engaging the flared portion of the tubular member may be fixedly connected to the bottom of the bag. cap member 58 having an O-ring 60 in its central openlng 1S threadedly connected to the upper end of the tubular member.

Referring now to FIG. 4 a further arrangement of apparatus useful with the present invention is shown in elevation view. In certain areas of the country and particularly in dry weather when the ground becomes very hard it is useful to have an auxiliary handle to assist in inserting and removing the elongated rod from the ground. Thus the present invention provides for attaching an auxilary handle having a brace member 81 to the elongated rod 34. Prefer-ably the elongated rod is tapped with a threaded hole and the end of the handle 80 is cut with mating threads. The handle 80 is inserted into the threaded hole and rotated in. The hollow tubular member is cut open as indicated by 83 to allow for travel of the handle. The handle is placed so that it is just below the upper collar 24 when the point of the elongated rod 34 is withdrawn into the lower end of the tubular member 32. In no case should the handle be placed more than one-fourth the way down the elongated rod 34. The golf bag is provided with a zippered slit so that the handle may be inserted and travel with the elongated rod.

Although specific embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, the invention is not to be limited to only those specific embodiments but rather the invention is meant to include all embodiments embraced by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for use with a golf bag comprising h0llow tubular means of substantially the same length as the golf bag, connecting means for connecting said tubular means to said golf bag substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said golf bag, elongated rod means slidably positioned in said tubular means and partially extending therefrom, O-ring stabilizing means at the upper end of said tubular means in frictional engagement with said elongated rod means to frictionally prevent said elongated rod means from freely sliding within said tubular means, a pointed portion formed on one end of said elongated rod means for penetrating the ground, and a handle on the other end of said elongated rod for use in inserting and removing said elongated rod from the ground.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that the stabilizing means is carried on said tubular means and frictionally engages against said elongated rod means.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized by a golf bag, said golf bag having an upper collar portion and said upper collar portion being recessed to permit said handle to be recessed therein when said pointed portion of said elongated rod is extended.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized by a golf bag, a hole in the bottom of said golf bag slidably receiving the hollow tubular means, a flared section on the lower end of said tubular means which will not pass through the hole, and connecting means connecting the upper end of said tubular means to the upper collar of the said golf bag, said connecting means containing an -O-ring which frictionally engages the elongated rod.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 further characterized in that an auxiliary handle is connected to the upper portion of said elongated rod and a portion of the upper part of said tubular means is cut open to allow travel of said handle with said rod.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that the connecting means comprises a flat washer having a central opening and fixedly connected to the upper collar of said golf bag, threaded means on the outside of said hollow tubular means, said threaded means extending through the central opening of said flat washer and a cap member having a central opening for said elongated rod and mating threads forsaid tubular means connected to the upper end of said tubular means, said cap member having an O-ring contacting said elongated rod.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 further characterized in that the connecting means comprises an angle member having a central opening and being fixedly connected to the upper collar of said golf bag, threaded means on the outside of said hollow tubular means, said threaded means extending through the central opening of said angle member and a cap member having a central opening for said elongated rod and mating threads for said tubular means connected to the upper end of said tubular means, said cap member having an O-ring contacting said elongated rod.

8. The apparatus of claim 3 further characterized in that an auxiliary handle is connected to the upper portion of said elongated rod and a portion of the upper part of References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,502,300 7/1924 Fairchild 248-96 X 1,926,184 9/1933 Schwer 248--96 1,741,057 12/1929 Howe 24896 X FOREIGN PATENTS 182,698 7/ 1922 Great Britain.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 248-96 

